Crypt Has Colonial Remains

State Archaeologist Nick Bellantoni Is Excavating A Tomb Holding The Bodies Of A Founding Family Of Colchester

October 11, 2002|By PETER MARTEKA; Courant Staff Writer

COLCHESTER — On a Halloween night nearly 70 years ago, someone broke into a crypt at the Ancient Burial Grounds, removed a skull and paraded it around town on top of a broomstick.

The next day, three boys were enlisted to return the skull and bury the entrance to the crypt, according to Arthur Liverant, a member of the town's historical society. Liverant's father was one of the boys.

The crypt remained hidden and was eventually forgotten until workers installing a fence around the cemetery last May uncovered a large stone with the words ``Tomb of Gershom Bulkeley and his Descendants'' etched on it.

Once it became clear that the crypt held the remains of one of the town's first families, state archaeologist Nick Bellantoni was called in to conduct an excavation. Bellantoni said the burial place may yield a wealth of information about the town's early history and the life of upper class residents of that era.

Bellantoni and members of the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology and students from the University of Connecticut spent much of the summer working in the 290-year-old cemetery. They removed the skeletal remains of Gershom Bulkeley and 27 of his descendants from the tomb.

``We've never done a tomb like this to this extent,'' Bellantoni said. ``It's an exciting opportunity to allow us to glimpse into late 18th- and early 19th-century life, in terms of the mortuary practices and funeral techniques.''

When the team first peered into the tomb, the brick floor was a jumble of deteriorating coffins, skeletons and skulls. The bodies, mostly in wooden coffins except for a mysterious zinc-lined one, were stacked on top of one another, some four high. Those who were placed in the tomb died between 1775 and 1832.

The ages of those in the tomb ranged from 1 to 96. Out of the 28 bodies, six were children.

As the sides of the coffins deteriorated, the remains collapsed on each other. But stacked neatly in one corner of the brick and sandstone tomb were coffin lids that held the deceased's initials along with the dates of birth and death. The discovery made identification of the tomb's occupants easier.

Large tacks were used to form the initials and dates of death. Some of the coffins were made with mahogany.

Gershom Bulkeley was a farmer who owned slaves and a descendant of a famous Connecticut family. Gershom's grandfather, also named Gershom, was a minister at the Congregational Church in Wethersfield from 1666 to 1682, as well as a judge and doctor. Peter Bulkeley, the Rev. Bulkeley's father and Gershom Bulkeley's great-grandfather, was one of the founders of Concord, Mass.

Gershom Bulkeley had eight children and was captain of Colchester's 1st company, which served in the French and Indian War.

The remains were taken to the University of Connecticut's forensic evidence lab, where they will be studied to determine the age, sex and cause of death. Scientists are also hoping to determine any infirmities the people had suffered, such as arthritis, broken bones or disease.

Bellantoni will present a slide show and talk about his discoveries at the Bulkeley crypt at 7 p.m. Monday at the Cragin Memorial Library located at 8 Linwood Ave.